State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Moanalua, Aiea), made the proposal as part of the Senate's version of the budget.

She said the UPW ad incites the guards by giving them false information. She said closing a module would affect 24 positions not 70.

"There are 76 funded vacancy positions throughout the corrections system and $3.6 million in appropriations," said Kim, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. "I don't anticipate the 24 corrections officers would lose their jobs."

But Sen. Will Espero, D-20th (Ewa Beach, West Loch), said it would be a waste of money to ship more Hawaii prisoners to the mainland.

"We're exporting $60 million plus to the mainland and that money can be better spent locally," he said.

Espero wants to identify up to 500 non-violent inmates for early release, work furlough programs, or electronic monitoring.

He said that would clear space to bring Hawaii prisoners home, save millions of dollars, and keep the guards at work.

"We're just people trying to make a living just to support our families so we can live in Hawaii. And Hawaii's so expensive," Halawa guard Rodney Chang said.

The state could save $6 million by closing the module.

But the men and women who guard inmates in the medium- and high-security facility wonder what the bottom line would be for them.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- About 200 United Public Workers union members, half of them prison guards, sign-waved and went door-to- door at the State Capitol Friday.

They were protesting a budget measure in the legislature that would close a module at Halawa Correctional Facility.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, D-14 (Moanalua, Aiea), chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the move could save $6 million dollars by sending hundreds of inmates to the mainland.